HERE WE GO AGAIN

Six Italian Regions to Go Back Under COVID-19 Lockdown

Amid a surge in new cases and pressure on the health care system, the Italian government has divided the country into three alert levels with varying degrees of restrictions.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte laid out new restrictions late Wednesday evening to mitigate the rapid spread of COVID-19 that include the total lockdown of six regions, including the financial hub of Milan. The country will now be divided into three zones: red, orange, and yellow. The red zone, which includes Lombardy in the north and Calabria in the south, will be under total lockdown for at least two weeks with all but essential businesses closed, while the capital Rome remains in the yellow zone, where businesses remain open but museums are now closed, restaurants and bars must close at 6 p.m., and shopping centers will be closed on the weekends. All high schools across the country are now required to offer remote-learning while some nursery and elementary schools will remain open for in-person learning in the yellow and orange zones. “We necessarily have to intervene,” Conte said during the Wednesday evening news conference. “There is a high probability that some regions will exceed the critical limits in intensive care units in the coming weeks.” The measures will take effect Friday and be evaluated on a weekly basis to determine if restrictions should be lifted in some regions or tightened in others.